After talking with Xia Ji, Li Ke's body recovered at an astonishing speed that was visible to the naked eye. The ship's medic could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Li Ke start sparring with his teammates.

He had already studied Li Ke's blood sample; it was much more active than that of ordinary people, but it wasn't the most outstanding among the superhuman samples from their military members.

The military doctor felt he might have overlooked something, or perhaps Li Ke's body had changed again after this injury, so he suggested giving Li Ke another examination.

Li Ke did not refuse; since the spatial consciousness helped her cheat, the other party would not be able to detect anything.

Seeing Li Ke's behavior, Xia Ji naturally understood her unwavering determination and said nothing more. From then on, he resumed his previous official and businesslike attitude.

The people at the deep-sea mine discovered the presence of their aircraft carrier and dispatched a nuclear submarine to negotiate, demanding that the captain withdraw from the area. The captain then took the opportunity to propose that they participate in the mine development together.

The other party was naturally unwilling to agree, and the situation reached a stalemate. The captain was not in a hurry, and the other party could not force him to leave. He could calm down and study the solar energy mine since he could not advance for the time being.

It was at this moment that Xia Ji received another message from Xiao Yi and his team. Their teammates reported that the wreckage of Xiao Yi's ship had been discovered near another deep-sea black hole.

However, they lacked the resources and manpower to explore the interior, and could only send over some not-so-clear deep-sea images.

Xia Ji studied those pictures and saw that the ship was indeed one of the ships that Xiao Yi had led his men out to sea, but the location was quite different from the coordinates that Xiao Yi and his men had given them.

The captain glanced at the report: "This location is within a week's journey from here. Take some men and go check it out. The enemy is on high alert here, so it's not advisable to make any small moves for the time being. The research on the solar energy mine isn't going very smoothly either. We'll have to wait and see."

Xia Ji naturally had no objections. In any case, they hadn't made any progress while guarding this place recently. After discussing it with his deputy, he issued the order to set off.

As for Li Ke, she had been following them all along. Xia Ji figured that this trip would probably just be to search for some clues at sea and there wouldn't be any danger, so he didn't leave Li Ke behind.

Li Ke only saw the photos a day after the ship departed, when Xia Ji gathered more than twenty squad leaders together for a meeting. After processing, the details could be examined.

The ship was severely damaged, with many parts badly deformed. However, photos and information gleaned from teammates indicated that there were no survivors or any remains on board, which is rather strange.

Xiao Yi and his group set sail in five ships, but there was only one ship near the black hole, and it was a somewhat damaged vessel.

Xia Qing sat with Li Ke, her eyes fixed on the pictures. Only after Xia Ji turned off the slideshow did she ask Li Ke, "Do you think we can find more clues on this trip?"

Li Ke knew that Xia Qing was brought up by Xiao Yi and that their relationship was extraordinary. She pondered for a moment before saying, "It's hard to say, but I see that there is no one on the ship, so there is a high possibility that Xiao Yi and the others are still alive."

Xia Qing took a deep breath: "The ocean is truly a mysterious place. That black hole gave me a very bad feeling."

Li Ke: "What do you mean?"

Xia Qing shook her head: "I can't explain it. Maybe it's because the ship's hull was damaged, like it was eaten and then spat out. This idea makes me feel very uncomfortable."

Li Ke patted her shoulder: "Don't overthink it, we'll be there soon, then we'll have plenty of time to study it."

What Li Ke didn't say was that she also had this feeling, but this feeling was actually quite normal. The twisted and destroyed shipwreck and the dark, deep abyss together were hard not to evoke terrifying associations.

Upon arriving at the shipwreck site and learning more about the situation from the team members stationed there, Xia Ji arranged for a group of people to enter the submarine and dive down again to explore and see if they could find more clues.

The shipwreck and the black hole are not right next to each other; there is still some distance between them. The first team members to arrive here had already entered the black hole to a depth of fifty meters before they could no longer descend.

According to their investigation, there were no light-emitting creatures inside the black hole; it was just a dark abyss, as calm as stagnant water.

Xia Ji's team entered the sunken ship again to conduct another search. They even managed to turn the ship over. After doing all this, a day and a night had passed when they surfaced again.

After listening to the report, Xia Ji told them to go and rest first, while he and the others held another meeting to discuss the results of the investigation.

"There were no supplies, no signs of habitation, no personal belongings, and none of their logbooks were found in the sunken ship. We had previously suspected that the people on board might have been eaten by the fish monster, which would explain the lack of remains. But now it seems more like an abandoned, empty ship," Xia Ji said after summarizing all the information.

Xia Qing asked, puzzled, "But we've all seen the extent of the damage to this ship; it couldn't have been caused by ordinary force. If it was abandoned empty, could it be that the people on board knew what was going to happen and chose to abandon it beforehand?"

Others chimed in with questions: "Where did the other ships and people go? It's possible that it encountered some mysterious force, and all the people and things inside were thrown out. The ocean is teeming with creatures, and it could easily devour many things. Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one, the current situation is somewhat unpredictable."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!